PARIS, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed on Friday the Syrian crisis and the situation in eastern Ukraine where a new wave of fighting escalated, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Over phone conversation, Ayrault and Lavrov “agreed that the cessation of hostilities agreement must be effectively respected in order to make political negotiations a success.”

They added that the peace talks to end six-year-long civil war have to be under the auspices of the United Nation in order to achieve a political transition in line with the UN 2254 resolution that calls all rival parties in Syria to immediately stop hostilities and engage in peace negotiations.

As to the Ukrainian crisis, French top diplomat “expressed concern over the resumption of fighting in eastern Ukraine in recent days.”

He called on Moscow “to do everything” to end fighting and facilitate civilian populations’ access to humanitarian aid.

Russia called on Ukraine to “immediately stop armed provocations” in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

PARIS, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed on Friday the Syrian crisis and the situation in eastern Ukraine where a new wave of fighting escalated, China's Xinhua news agency reported. Over phone conversation, Ayrault and Lavrov 'agreed that the cessation of hostilities agreement...